Pottery

THE KILN

The kiln is a catenary wood fired, cross-draft kiln meaning the firebox is directly across from the exit flue of the kiln. Fellow North Carolina potter and good friend Mark Peters designed the kiln. Mark and I built the kiln in the winter of 2005 with the help of other friends and local potters. The kiln is made of high temperature brick and the arch is made of a high temperature castable or clay concrete mix. Wood for the kiln comes in bundles from a local wood shop that makes molding for interiors. It typically takes 2 1/2 truckloads to fire the kiln. Once the pots are loaded in the kiln, a small burner is placed in the kiln to preheat the pots to 150 degrees Fahrenheit. The firing starts the next morning with a small fire being built and then wood is added over a 17 to 19 hour period until the temperature in the kiln is brought up to 2400 degrees Fahrenheit. Once the top temperature is reached, salt is thrown into the kiln to help flux out the wood ash on the pots and to glaze any raw areas on the pots. The kiln then cools for 2 days and the pots are unloaded, cleaned up, priced, and packed up for sales or gallery deliveries.


THE KILN The kiln is a catenary wood fired, cross-draft kiln meaning the firebox is directly across from the exit flue of the kiln. Fellow North Carolina potter and good friend Mark Peters designed the kiln. Mark and I built the kiln in the winter of 2005 with the help of other friends and local potters. The kiln is made of high temperature brick and the arch is made of a high temperature castable or clay concrete mix. Wood for the kiln comes in bundles from a local wood shop that makes molding for interiors. It typically takes 2 1/2 truckloads to fire the kiln. Once the pots are loaded in the kiln, a small burner is placed in the kiln to preheat the pots to 150 degrees Fahrenheit. The firing starts the next morning with a small fire being built and then wood is added over a 17 to 19 hour period until the temperature in the kiln is brought up to 2400 degrees Fahrenheit. Once the top temperature is reached, salt is thrown into the kiln to help flux out the wood ash on the pots and to glaze any raw areas on the pots. The kiln then cools for 2 days and the pots are unloaded, cleaned up, priced, and packed up for sales or gallery deliveries.